A couple of months back I put up a “squeeze page.” (You already know what that is, even if you don’t know the term. It’s an email opt-in page that teases a giveaway, like a free report, but “squeezes” the reader to surrender their email address first.) My squeeze page offers my “Email Marketing Cheatsheet,” […]
Continue readingHilarious email came in the other day: === Subject: i might wanna hire you i read your twitter description, i’m interested. book a time with me to pitch me your service/consulting [link to calendar] donnie === What a charmer! I don’t even know him yet, and he’s already playing games. Trying to gain the upper […]
Continue readingBefore I hung out my shingle and started taking my own clients, I spent 9 long months as a “copy grunt.” Well technically the term is “copy cub.” Or “apprentice,” or “intern.” Basically I found a seasoned pro copywriter and agreed to do his dirty work. In exchange I got Fiverr wages for cranking out […]
Continue readingYesterday I had some fun shredding a new client’s sale page. Tearing the copy apart, piece by piece, showing him where it worked and where it failed miserably. (Having your copy critiqued is murder on the ego but it’s the fastest way to improve.) When we got to his offer, here’s what I told him: “You’re […]
Continue readingDoes it matter what time of day you send your emails? And what about days of the week—are some better than others? I have 2 answers for this. One is the tried and true response of all consultants: “It depends.” And truthfully it does. Different markets have very different habits and patterns. For example, if […]
Continue readingSo how long should you keep people on your email list? And if you’re building out an autoresponder sequence, how long should it run? 14 days? 30 days? 60? Marketing wizard Dean Jackson likes to talk about a study done by a company called The Inquiry Handling Service. These guys process business reply cards for […]
Continue readingThis past weekend I finally watched “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” (Yeah, I know, I know… I’ve been living under a cultural rock for the past 3 years to get my business launched, and I have a lot of catching up to do.) One of the best lines in the whole movie comes when arch-villian Ultron […]
Continue readingI hear from a lot of would-be email marketers who know that it’s important offer a mind-blowing “lead magnet” to attract new subscribers to their email list… But they have NO idea what they should create. Should I write an ebook? Or do an info graphic? Maybe an email course would be better… Most of […]
Continue readingSubscriber Craig emailed me recently about the way I style my messages: === Love to see you write about the format of these emails. In other words, generally one sentence and then a space between. And the width of the text is never longer than a certain amount. Is there a specific email template you […]
Continue reading“Parks and Recreation” just might be my all-time favorite TV series. I’ve seen every episode at least 4 times. (Thanks, Netflix!) Ron Swanson MAKES that show. He always tells it like it is. No punches pulled. And one of the best Ron Swanson quotes ever is this: “There’s only one thing I hate more than […]
Continue readingMy oldest son is crafty. He’s VERY specific about the foods he wants. If we let him, he’d happily eat the same 3-5 foods for every single meal. Every other food is on permanent probation as far as he’s concerned. And if Dad and Mom don’t watch him closely, he’ll gradually move more and more […]
Continue readingMy blow-by-blow account of The Great Photo Studio Shakedown prompted a chorus of replies from subscribers who wanted to know: “What would ‘permission to sell’ look like in this scenario?” Before I answer, here’s a brief recap: Our church is putting together a photo directory, and when we showed up for our “free portrait,” the […]
Continue readingIf I told you, “OK, draw me a Batman,” how would you do it? I’ve doodled out a few Batmans over the years, and my first instinct is always to grab my pencil and start drawing his pointy ears and cowl. Then when I had those down, I’d move on to his shoulders and arms. […]
Continue readingThe church we attend is putting together a photo directory, so last weekend we went to have our a family portrait taken. (‘Cause every introvert dreams of having strangers walk up to them and start talking to them by name, you know?) The session started off well. The photographer, a young woman, manage to get […]
Continue readingPicture this: One day you happen to notice a strange little knobby growth under your right arm. You’re concerned about it, so you hop into your car and drive straight to the nearest doctor’s office. You barge right past the receptionist and into the exam room, where the doctor is seeing another patient. “Hey doc, […]
Continue readingYesterday I said that it’s critical to strike the right tone for your audience—or you’ll come across as hype-y or (just as bad) flat and boring. Subscriber David asks: === Can you talk some more about the second to last sentence in your email? About matching your tone to the customer’s expectations. How do you […]
Continue readingDon’t you just hate hype? I can’t stand reading copy that’s crammed with vacuous promises, empty phrases and so many exclamation points!!! I’m especially sensitive to this because of my background as a software developer. Engineers break out in hives at the faintest whiff of copywriter-speak or jargon. Fire a few hype-y emails at a […]
Continue readingSubscriber Felix inquires: Should each email only have 1 call to action or can you have a couple like “click on this link to read the blog” and then later in the email ask them to share the blog post via a click to tweet link? Is it ok to have more than one call […]
Continue readingEver see a really great pool player in action? Yesterday I was listening to a classic lecture by master copywriter Eugene Schwartz. He made a great analogy: Marketing is like playing pool. You can’t just think about the shot you’re making—you have to think at least one shot ahead. There’s a great Youtube video by […]
Continue readingAbout 4 million emails ago, I was a total email marketing rookie. I had a tiny little list—just a few hundred subscribers. And it felt like I had to slave away for hours to earn each and every one. The way I had my email software set up, I’d get an email every time someone […]
Continue readingReader Despina writes: I want to promote a new educational game app. In order to do so I will email the press release to the game reviewers (on- line guides, magazines, newspapers, blogs etc). And now here is my #1 question as you mentioned Which is the best practise writing this sort of email in […]
Continue readingA couple of summers ago, a friend of mine named Don hired a contractor to repaint the front porch on his two-story brick colonial home. The painter arrived, did his thing and collected the check. Don was happy with the work. The guy didn’t splatter paint all over the place. No nasty drip marks on […]
Continue readingRaccoons are smart critters—one of the sharpest species in the world, in fact. And their dexterous little paws allow them to yank the lids off sealed garbage cans, turn door knobs, and even use tools. They’re born problem solvers. Way back in 1908, a scientist ran an experiment with a group of raccoons. The raccoons […]
Continue readingRight now I’m hip deep in a mailing. No, not email. Old fashioned, paper-and-ink-and-postage-stamps letters. I’ve got stacks of papers all over my basement office. My fingers are sore from folding paper. I’ve got writer’s cramp from scribbling addresses with a ball point pen. Why go to all this trouble—especially hand-addressing every single envelope? Well, […]
Continue readingHey {{ subscriber.first_name | default: “there” }}, For some reason this one particular email weirded me out. I had NO idea who the sender was—some guy named John Forde. The subject line didn’t give me a lot of clues either: “CR #690: Painting Lessons.” For some reason I opened it, and that’s when I started […]
Continue reading